


Carboard Faces

by orphan_account



Category: None - Fandom
Genre: Coffee, Coffee Shops, Coldness, Gay Romance, Homophobia, Hugging, Internal Conflict, Kissing, M/M, Romance, Suspense, Tears, cardboard references, dont read this if youre against, external conflict, family rejection, well i guess everyone here is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-17
Packaged: 2018-04-21 07:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4819862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jonathan is a simple teenager with a troubling past that no one knows about. When an awkward football player enters Carly's Coffee one evening, Jonathan's life changes for the better and the worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keep the Change

"If you don't leave me alone, I'll stick your arm in the coffee blender."

 

That's all it took to begin the worst fight to ever go down in History. Well, the worst (and most known) fight to spread across the gloomy High School of Pepperridge Academy.

 

Jonathan, a seventeen-year-old boy who wrote down whatever came to mind, was preparing to close down Carly's Coffee, a little breakfast shop located just on the outskirts of New Jersey. He had been working there for over a year and a half, ever since the day he turned sixteen.

 

Carly's Coffee was a subtle place, associated with quiet talking and the smell of breakfast bagels in the early morning, and a deserted dullness while lights twinkled outside in the night. Afternoons consisted of laughter and thoughtful visits by friends; Jonathan liked these. It reminded him that people still found his company worth while, even after the incident.

The best visit he had yet was when Jimmy Powel, captain of the football team, swung by to wish Jonathan a merry hello. This surprised him most, considering the only conversation the two ever held was about who had bigger boobs: Lisa Monroe or Jamie Henrietta. That was over a year ago, when the two were forcibly partnered up in the beginning of their Sophomore year. The objective of the partnership was to encourage different students to "get to know each other," arranged by the teacher.

 

The first thing Jimmy had said when he walked over was, "Jamie Henrietta's junk is bigger than my biceps."

 

And the pleasant debate began.

 

It had to be a coincidence that over a year and a half later, Jimmy Powen had wandered through the swinging door of Carly's Coffee, hands in his pockets, football jersey hugging his muscular chest, his brown eyes gleaming with a pleasant content as he looked back at the little ringing bell above the door. Jonathan had almost dropped the cup he was holding out to a customer, a woman with long, blond hair bunched back into a ponytail. Jonathan caught his eye, blinking in curiosity before finishing with his current customer. 

 

"That'll be 6.99$, ma'am.." Jonathan gave the woman a weak smile in hopes of earning a tip. No tip- just a exchange of coffee and money, and she was on her way, the bell jingling as she opened the door. Jonathan sighed.

 

The sun was nearly setting, the pale moon making an early arrival in the transparent sky, golden arms of orange and yellows stretching magnificently above a mountain. It was the dying daylight that revealed swirling dust captured in rays peeking through the windows, yellows bathing the interior of the coffee shop. Jonathan watched as Jimmy looked left and right, studying the place before catching his eye, walking over.

 

"What'll it be?" Jonathan introduced, staring politely as he had been doing all day. You'd think with what a good worker he was, he'd earn more tips, but no, the only cash resting in the bright jar on the counter amounted to a tiny nine dollars and a few pennies, Jonathan had counted twice. Jimmy looked up at the menu, remaining silent as his gorgeous eyes scanned the options.

 

"Regular latte, no whip." He finally said, looking back indifferently at Jonathan. The golden-haired boy nodded, going over to the coffee machine and preparing the simple drink.

 

The next few moments were silent as Jonathon placed the cup on the counter beside him, pressing buttons on the cash register before smiling at the football player. "That'll be-"

 

"6.99$, I know." Jimmy cut off, a delicate smirk on his lips as he handed over the cash. Jonathan blinked, taking the green wad between his thumb and his pointer finger, Jimmy lifting up his drink.

 

"You know," the captain muttered, his eyes flickering to Jonathan's, "I never really liked coffee."

 

There was a short silence as the two stared at each other for a few seconds, Jonathan blinking stupidly, his lips parting to speak. Before he could, however, Jimmy leaned in, grabbing the back of the blonde's head gently, kissing him softly. Jonathan tensed up in surprise, his body frozen in shock. Jimmy wasn't stopping, however, his rough lips gliding against Jonathan's in a light caress. It was only three seconds, but it felt like a lifetime before Jonathan found himself kissing the other back, reaching up to feel through his hair.

Jonathan had never kissed anyone before, none the less someone who he barely knew, but he couldn't seem to be able to stop. He wanted it to go on forever, kissing the football player until the sun set and came up again, but nothing lasts forever. Before Jonathan could think properly, Jimmy was pulling away, his gentle lips detaching from Jonathan's inexperienced ones.

 

"Keep the change."

 

With that, he was turning away, muscular shoulders swaying as he walked. Jonathan watched until Jimmy headed through the door, the bell singing once more. Jonathan's face changed to a deep scarlet, thinking over what the hell just happened. What seemed like hours later, he looked down at the amount of cash the mysterious football player had given him- over 50 dollars.

 

The sun finally receded into the mountain, Jonathan's peace ceasing with the day.

 

 

Now, Jonathan was a Senior, and a little too young to be so. It was two years since the boob-debate, and a year since the football player had wandered into the Carly's Coffee. Only two little conversations- just two - and the football player had made more of an impact on the coffee maker than his own best friend.

 

Jonathan wasn't an interesting person. He wasn't exactly attractive; his friends always teased him about looking like a surfer dude without the six pack; shaggy, blond hair and a tan complexion. He had no idea why the color of his skin wasn't pale with how much time he spent inside. He knew it wasn't genetic, most of his family was white, including his parents. He learned not to question it; it wasn't of importance.

 

The blond held bright, blue pools for eyes, lighter than the ocean, darker than the sky. His lashes were longer and more girlier than he wanted them to be, his lips too pink to look like he wasn't wearing lip-gloss, which he hated equally along with his eyelashes. He didn't see himself as physically fit- he was skinny and small for his age, seventeen and a month. And his feet, embarrassingly, were sort of big. (His sister called him "bigfoot.")

 

But all of this didn't bother Jonathan nearly as much as Jimmy Powen did. How dare he, that football player, most popular boy in the Pepperridge High, leave such a mark on him? Jonathan nearly remembered every word the held in their Sophomore year, treasuring it like his first born child. Too many times, it seemed, Jonathan had caught himself staring at the boy on public transportation, feeling his cheeks light up with the sort of pink you saw on his lips, quickly looking away before he was caught.

 

What did all this mean? Was he gay? Jonathan didn't know. Maybe he was bisexual? No, he didn't have a clue. To solve the problem, the teen found himself going with the flow, following the rule of, "whatever happens, happens." To settle the matter. No complications, no drama, no mess or heartbreak, right? Perhaps when they all went to college, Jonathan could forget about him.

 

"Whatcha thinkin bout, puddin?" A familiar voice made Jonathan almost drop his dinner fork on the ground. He had been so deep in thought, he almost forgot where he was. He looked up at his aunt, sitting across from him, a smear of mashed potatoes sticking to her plump cheek.

 

Jonathan looked back down at his plate: peas, potatoes, and pork chops. A dinner anyone would be grateful for, but he didn't feel very hungry. His sister, Amelia, eight-years-old, typed away on her IPhone, the clinking of silverware against plates sounding occasionally as his parents ate.

 

"Nothing, just school stuff." Jonathan gave a small shrug. His aunt laughed, raising her glass of cider to her fat lips to take a gulp, her neck fat jiggling. It was amazing, really, how big a person could get. His mother had to push two chairs together to suit his aunt's huge bottom.

 

"How precious. How're your grades, nummy?" She gasped, stuffing her cheeks full of potatoes.

 

Jonathan almost sighed at the small talk he always got when a relative came to visit. It was always something like, "How's school?" and, "You've grown so much since I last saw you!" or, "Sally? Is that you?" (The last one was always said by his senile grandfather as he groped Jonathan's face; he was almost blind as a bat.)

 

"Good." Jonathan replied, forcing himself to swallow a cluster of peas. His mother scoffed.

 

"You'd have better grades if you didn't spend all day playing video games and staring off into space." She scolded lightly, taking a sip of her cider with a raise of her eyebrows. His father gave a nod in agreement.

 

"I don't stare off into space." Jonathan said.

 

"Yes you do, you just were!" The perky voice of Amelia accused, earning a glare from her older brother.

 

"Fine, but even if I do, what's the big deal?" Jonathan replied, looking around at his relatives. "It's not like I want to go to University."

 

His father, a man possessing a face that once was young and handsome, shook his head deliberately. "You'll go to University if you don't want to end of working at that Coffee Shop our whole life, boy!"

 

That was the last straw. This happened all the time; every minute Jonathan spent with his family, they were either ganging up on him or ignoring him. He had had enough. With a sigh, the blond stood up, pushed in his chair, and carried his plate to the sink. "I'm done, thanks for the dinner." He muttered, going out into the hall toward the stairs. He could hear his mother's protests calling him back.

 

"Johnny, you've barely even touched your food...!"

 

"Teenagers..." he heard his aunt sigh, like he was the one being irrational.

 

 

Jonathan swung open his bedroom door, the familiar, horrid creak ripping through the air. Jonathan could never be one of those kids that snuck out of his bedroom at night to steal cookies from the kitchen- his door would give him away the second it opened, waking his parents up and earning him a spanking.

He pulled out his swivel chair and sat down, grabbing up his backpack and unzipping it. He had a lot of homework to do, and not much time to do it. He phone beeped happily, notifying him of a new Kik message. He checked the message quickly; a text from Lisa, one of his best friends.

"Wat r u doing." The text read.

"Doing hw. Text you later." He replied, his fingers moving to the power button to turn it off. He usually couldn't focus on Trigonometry for longer than ten minutes before getting completely absorbed in his phone. He held down the little square and went to tap the "power off" button when his phone beeped again.

He found himself sighing aloud. Yes, Lisa was a great friend, but she didn't seem to understand when he wanted to be left alone. He went to check the message, only to see it wasn't from the redheaded girl, but from a user he didn't know: Watupdawg92

That was such a 90's username that Jonathan snorted. He tapped on it, his eyes taking seconds to read it before his body froze.

"Sorry this is random. Wanna meet up for coffee? -Jimmy Powen"

Jimmy? Powen? Jimmy Powen? THE Jimmy Powen? The-Jimmy-Powen-that-made-out-with-him-for-like-a-full-minute-a-year-ago-and-never-contacted-him-again-Jimmy-Powen? It couldn't be. It had to be a prank. Jimmy Powen was far too popular to ask Jonathan, a drama student with a surfer haircut, out to get coffee? Then again, they did make out. For no reason. A year ago.

Jonathan blinked several times in confusion, reading over the text too many times to count, his thumbs hovering over the little keyboard. What do you even say to that? Yes? No? Maybe? Sorry, I'm busy? But, really, Jonathan kind of wanted to meet up with the football player again..

No. That was stupid. He didn't wanted "the incident" to repeat itself. Not like last time.. But then again, that involved a girl. Jimmy was a boy, so it would be different, right? He couldn't get Jimmy pregnant, so what could go wrong?

He typed in one letter apprehensively. His mind flickered back and forth between "this is stupid" and "I want Jimmy to kiss me again." He deleted the letter, biting his lip. What if this ended badly? What if someone was trying to prank him? What if Jimmy was just trying to prank him?

After a long, internal debate, the blond agreed.

"Sure. When?"

 

 

The scarf around Jonathan's neck was warm and woolly and red, almost covering his mouth as freezing air swept leaves off of the ground and someplace near. His hands were stuffed in his coat, his cheeks and nose and his ears pink from the cold. He wasn't standing outside Carly's Coffee- this was a different Coffee Shop, the famous Starchucks, people in equally warm clothing passing him every few seconds with the heads down so the biting air didn't blow directly on their faces. Jonathan was waiting for Jimmy at the exact time and place they agreed to meet. He had even came earlier, just to be safe.

Fifteen minutes passed and Jimmy was late. Jonathan's face flushed to meet the color of his lips. Yes, it was a prank. It definitely was. Someone had seen them kiss a year ago and remember it yesterday, so they decided to have some fun. Yes, that had to be it. He took a slow step back from Starchucks, scanning the crowd one last time for any sign of the football captain.

None.

Right before Jonathan could turn around, he heard a shout of his name, and footsteps padding toward him. He looked over his shoulder, eyes widening slightly. Jimmy was jogging toward him.


	2. I'm not a lady's man, you know?

"Hey! Jonathan!"

 

Jimmy Powen padded toward him, torn sneakers and a lightweight jacket accustomed to his attire. Jonathan turned around, eyes slightly widened in surprise. So it wasn't a prank, huh? He found himself walking toward the other, a curious smile drawn to his face.

"I was just about to leave. Fifteen minutes late?" Jonathan shook his head and laughed, "Shame on you."

For this, he earned a scoff and a snort. Jimmy was a boy of muscle, as you probably already know; large arms and a tight jaw, his stomach hard and matured from days and weeks of football training. He had brown eyes, short, brunette hair, and large hands, prefect for catching and throwing footballs. Word was that Jimmy had been playing the sport since he could walk, his father, a retired NFL coach, teaching him from an early age. For this, Jimmy was almost guaranteed a football scholarship, and it was the same reason he was captain of the Pepperridge Broncos, their school team.

"Sorry, something happened." Jimmy's brown eyes flickered to Jonathan's blue ones, twinkling before looking to the entrance of Starchucks, pointing subtly. "Wanna go inside?"

"God, yes." Jonathan replied, turning around and opening the door handle, going inside, Jimmy following. The pair was immediately blasted with warm heat, causing them to sigh in relief.

The next thirty minutes were filled with blatant joking on Jimmy's part, (some dirty, earning disapproving looks from both Jonathan and nearby tables) some inexcusably funny. Jimmy seemed like the sort of guy humor came naturally to, but there was something else Jonathan couldn't put his finger on. Jimmy seemed stressed- like he was trying too hard to impress Jonathan- his laughter sort of stiff.

"And then she hit the guy with a cane and did this weird f*cking pterodactyl screech, and he never bothered her again!" Jimmy finished, Jonathan covering his mouth, his forehead pressed into the table they were sitting at. It took a minute for him to recover himself before the blond looked up, soft laughter creasing between words.

"Your grandma is amazing." He laughed, leaning back in his chair, running his hands through his hair. Jimmy smiled and nodded, picking up his coffee and taking a drink. 

"She was tough.." He replied, setting the coffee down again. Jonathan blinked.

"Was?" He approached hesitantly, realization crossing his mind. Oh, so his grandma was dead. The smile fell from the blonde's face, his lips shutting. Their was a tiny silence between them as other's people's chatter filled the void. Then, Jonathan spoke again.

"Why did you ask me to come here today, Jimmy?" He asked, eyes studying the football player. Jimmy shrugged, his chestnut-colored eyes averting away from Jonathan, out the window.

"You're interesting."

"I am not interesting."

"Yes, you are." Jimmy assured, his eyes flickering back to the blonde's. "I've always wanted to talk to you. I see you by the lockers sometimes, talking to other people. You're nice to everyone. Even that weird kid that hangs out by the mall every other day. Even the kids who pick on you. Why?"

Jonathan blinked. How long had Jimmy been watching him? More importantly, why the hell would he be watching him in the first place? Jonathan wasn't eye-candy. He wasn't special. He was just a normal guy who wanted to pass school and wriggle free from his parent's grip, that's it. He stared intently at the football player before a deep mistrust overtook him, suspicious welling his nerves.

"You're tricking me.." Jonathan shook his head, setting his coffee down, standing up, pushing in his chair. No one that popular and good-looking would want to be friendly with a guy like Jonathan. It couldn't be true. Jonathan was too unattractive- too boring. Popular kids always liked to make fun of less-popular kids. After this, Jimmy would probably slam a pie in his face, holding up a camera, howling with laughter as he explained Jonathan wasn't actually worth his time. He'd go show the video to all his friend at school. That's exactly what kids like Jimmy did.

Jimmy stood up off his chair, too, a surprised look on his face as he held up two hands, "Hold on, I'm not-"

"Then what are you doing?" Jonathan cut in, turning to look at Jimmy with a confused, mistrusting expression. It was very clear that Jonathan had trust issues. Jimmy frowned, approaching the blonde.

"W-what're you..?" Jonathan started, but his sentence was completely interrupted, and Jimmy was kissing him. Jonathan's body went stiff the way it had the first time, stupidly widening his eyes.

It was like a wave of sincerity had swept Jonathan far away from reality. He pressed back, shakily reaching up to grab onto the football player's shirt. The reaction urged Jimmy to kiss the actor harder, pulling the much smaller body against his broad one.

What the hell was Jonathan doing..? They were in public; everyone was probably looking at him. But Jonathan couldn't stop. It was like this was all he ever wanted to have. A kiss like this had to be real.. He trusted Jimmy once more. 

Once again, the football player was the first to pull away, leaving the small blonde awestruck. But Jimmy was still holding onto his face gently, staring at him in a sort of affection that made the other melt.

"Didn't you have a girlfriend?" Jonathan muttered, his blue eyes laughing as he stared at the brunette. 

"Did," Jimmy replied, his hold on the other loosening, "but I don't think I'm a ladies man, you know?"

That settled it. Jimmy wasn't straight and neither was Jonathan. No way.

Someone cleared their throat next to them, and all at once, Jonathan remembered that they were literally in public. With a yelp, the blonde quickly pulled away, looking around the room. All eyes were on them, most of them smiling and clapping.

"This isn't the Fault in our Stars..!" Jonathan squeaked, grabbing his phone off of the table and starting toward the door.

Jimmy laughed merrily, following Jonathan, the sound of a teenage boy screaming, "FAGS!" their victory song as they stepped back into the cold.


End file.
